This invention relates generally to a timing apparatus and more particularly to a water-based timing apparatus whereby aquatic sports and pleasure activities such as sailboarding, yachting, motorboating and swimming may be timed and otherwise supervised.
In most water-based sports and the like, the critical points of a race such as the start, finish and completion of legs or laps, are generally determined by the passage of the participants through a reference line. The timing of such passage is usually recorded by the use of either hand-held stopwatches or some form of computer controlled timing system, either of which are activiated by an individual actually observing the passage of each participant through the reference line.
The timing of water-based sports and the like is complicated by the fact that participants are often staggered or vying closely for position as they pass through the reference line. Moreover, because the start, completion of laps or legs, and finish of such races are determined for each participant by physically eyeing the point at which that participant crosses the starting line, timing may be further complicated by the angle of view, the degree to which the participant is obscured by other objects, including other participants, and human error generally.
Further problems are presented by the so-called "flying start", in which it is the object of each participant to remain as close as possible to other participants in proceeding through the reference line, while not crossing the line before a starting signal is given. Because of the rapid motion of participants in events such as motorboating, it is often extremely difficult to determine by direct observation which participants should be disqualified for crossing the starting line prior to the official start of the race. Moreover, because such a start is presently judged by the use of a photograph to determine any disqualification, one must therefore wait until such photograph is developed to make rulings. Accordingly, races are well under way or are completed before a restart may be ordered, and often, as a result, participants can afford but one mistake in running such a race.
As a result of such complications, supervision and timing of aquatic races requires close scrutiny and is often subject to substantial error. Since such races are often determined in seconds or fractions of seconds, this error can be crucial indeed.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an improved means for judging the start, finish and completion of laps or legs of a timed aquatic event such as a sailboat, motorboat or yacht race.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved means whereby the time at which participants in an aquatic sport and the like pass through a reference line may be more accurately determined.
It is another object of the invention to provide a water-based apparatus whereby participants may pass between two sensing means contained thereon to actually record the occurrence and time of such passage during an aquatic race.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide a water-based apparatus which is stabilized such that its position in the water is relatively constant thereby allowing for the improved recording of data therefrom pertinent to position and timing of objects passing therethrough.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a stable and torsionally rigid floating apparatus to act as a base for a transmitter/receiver package adapted to detect the presence of an object passing between such transmitter and receiver contained thereon.